Hero Strategy: Skar
With all 4 variants unlocked at Crogenitor Level 35, a Necro Ravager from Nocturna]]Skar is a very anticipated Hero for many, and for good reason. His Squad Ability will guarantee Critical Strikes, allowing for serious damage output and significant healing. General Information Skar is a Necro Ravager. As such, he is fast, with high DPS, but low defenses. He is based around striking fast and doing it with precision. At the same time, as a Necrogenesis character, his Variant Abilities can make each version of Skar play very differently from the others. Skar is loved for his Squad Ability: Shadow Cloak. Three of the five Plasma characters, Lumin, Char, and Zrin all benefit from the Shadow Cloak. Flame Surge is simply, for lack of a better word, epic, when given a 100% Crit chance. Zrin's Plasma Column is devastating, as every tick of his DPS Squad Ability will crit, almost literally melting enemies's health away. Lumin can silently manuever into the middle of a group, then bring down the heavens with his Thunderstorm. Char, on the other hand, has a DoT Squad Ability. Fiery Eruption ''will deal impressive upfront damage, and can take out any survivors of the initial assault with its DoT Burn. Prior to his recent nerf, Skar was almost always paired with Tork. Tork's ''Sporogenesis used to heal regardless of whether or not debuffs were present, and a Shadow Cloaked ''AoE HoT was a sight for sore eyes at the end of a horde pit. Nowadays, on the Bio side, Skar's Squad Ability is regulated back to buffing ''Virulent Vines' damage. Sage's Strangling Briars are a great combo with Shadow Cloak, as it will slow down enemies trapped inside, forcing them to take several more ticks of Crit DPS. In addition, Tree of Life benefits from Crit Healing. - Basic Attack: 'Dual Strike' "Attacks once with each hand in quick succession, dealing X-X physical damage twice." Skar is the only hero in the game with such an ability. This allows for him to quickly cut down enemies, one by one. Additional Attack Speed ''will allow him to deal damage even faster, while these multiple hits will benefit from ''Health and Power Leech. Each attack in a sense deals double damage, since they're two different attacks at (almost) the same time. - Unique Ability: 'Shadow Sting' "A devastating melee attack that deals X-X physical damage and exposes a key weakness. For the next 6 seconds, physical attacks on that same target will deal increased damage equal to 50% of the damage this attack dealt." Shadow Sting is best used on larger enemies with more health than an average Minion. Excellent for dispatching high priority enemies, in both Solo and Co-op. Darkspore Operatives will die a little faster, and Bosses will take more Physical Damage from all players, making him useful in Co-op when paired with other player's Sentinels , such as Zrin or Savage , or a fellow Melee Ravager like Viper or Vex. - Squad Ability: 'Shadow Cloak' "Becomes invisible for 6 seconds. for the first second Skar is immune to damage, but after that taking damage will break the invisibility. Attacking while invisible will cause an automatic critical hit and will also break the effect." The main selling point of Skar. Working with nearly every Hero in the game, Shadow Cloak ''can dramatically increase the effectivness of DoTs, DPS', as well as Healing abiliies. This makes a good pair with Meditron, as when using Meditron Alpha or Beta, you can use ''Shadow Cloak and then their squad ability. If you have enough catalysts then and it's big badda boom. Also, if anyone in your squad is injured, Shadow Cloak then Reconstruct can heal A LOT. To learn more about Skar's Squad Ability Modifiers go to "Squad Ability Modifiers" heading below. - Passive: 'Opportunism' "Skar deals 25% more damage with direct damage abilities when he attacks from behind his target." A mixed bag. On the one hand, with the ability to turn invisible, getting behind a target can be easy. On the other hand, this is not a good thing to do during the heat of battle, with projectiles flying around, which may hit you. It is better to start a battle this way than to finish it. A critical Shadow Sting with a 10% boost will quickly cripple most Lieutenants, Elites and even Destructors. On the third hand, not every Darkspore has a recognizable front. Botanical Tunnelers, Laser Tanks , and Mutation Agents for example have radial symmetry for the most part. Whether they do have a front or not is unknown, however, it has been shown that Laser Tanks only shoot their lasers in a cone (not always, but mostly), and if their target leaves the cone, they must remove all lasers before re-attacking. Squad Ability Modifiers In the recent Patch 5.3.0.125, Skar got two squad ability modifiers: *'Skar's Shadow Cloak: Fears nearby enemies.' *'Skar's Shadow Cloak: Removes most recent debuff.' Variants 'Alpha' - Lifeforce Siphon "Channeled health drain that steals X health from a single target over 6 seconds. While channeling, you are shielded and take 50% less damage from all sources." Skar Alpha is specialized for taking down single targets, such as Lieutenants, Elites, Captains, and Destructors. With'' Cooldown Reduction and ''Power Leech, he can maintain a steady stream of Shadow Stings ''and ''Shadow Cloak-''enhanched ''Lifeforce Siphons. His Variant Ability will keep him alive, and will also reduce damage recieved. With + Periodic Damage, the amount of damage dealt, and therefore the amount of Health Skar recovers, is increased. This variant recieves trouble in the form of the Reflective affix. While that will have no effect on his main form of damage (Shadow Sting - Dual Strike), it will prevent Lifeforce Siphon from being used effectively, in extension cutting down on his survivability. Ghostly and Spiky affixes are even more crippling, but are that way for every variant of Skar, so it would be best to switch him out regardless of which one you are playing. Beta - http://images.wikia.com/darksporegame/images/9/93/Soul_Link.png Soul Link - "'''Damage taken by Skar is evenly distributed to the rest of his squad members for 12 seconds. If Skar is at full health, then healing will also be shared with his squad members." Soul Link is a fascinating ability, which requires one to build his/her entire squad around the Hero with said ability in order to make it really worth while. Skar with Soul Link is much more durable than the usual Skar, though only while the Link is active. What one really needs to keep in mind, though, is the Passives and Squad Abilities of his Squad Mates. ALWAYS USE DUAL LEECH ''AND ''COOLDOWN REDUCTION!' This can't be stressed enough. This is a list of possible combos of different heroes with Skar Beta. *'Tork' - While his ''Sporogenesis has taken a hit, his Passive, Rampant Growth, has not. All periodic effects are increased by 25%. Excellent with characters like Zrin. *'Arborus' - With increased survivability, come the opportunity to abuse Arboreal Might. Increased damage, is a boon for any Hero, and with his fast pace, he can easily recharge its duration. Arborus' passive, Thorn Back ''further increases survivability, and also returns some of the damage dealt to him. *'Viper' - ''Toxicity is a monster on any Ravager, and Skar is NO EXCEPTION. Pairing well with other AoE Squad Abilities, Skar can poison enemies from afar, and finish them off when they draw near. Thornado's damage is appreciated too. *Theoretically, Arakna's Passive, Soul Collector would be a boon here. However, this would make maintaining Soul Link even more crucial, and her Squad Ability is honestly, far from the best. *'Lumin '- With his excellent Passive, Charged Field, paired with the naturally high Critical Rati''ng of a Ravager, Skar could have a supportive role for his allies in Co-op, greatly increasing teammate's Critical Rating. *'Zrin' - ''Hardened Mantle gives a buff to his survivability, but mainly one would choose Zrin so they could abuse the Plasma Colomn + Shadow Cloak combo, maybe with a bit of Rampant Growth added for good measure. *'Blitz' - The advantages of Deadly Precision on Skar are, simply put, terrifying. With a way to guarantee crits, any attack can suddenly skyrocket in damage dealt. Plasma Wreath ''will also provide additionable survivabiliy and damage. *'Orion '- As if reducing the amount of time it takes for Cooldowns to reset wasn't good enough, ''Chronostabilizer ''will increase Skar's movement and attack speed as long as he stays at 75% HP. With ''Soul Link, this is much easier. *'Magnos' - The naturally high Dodge Rating of a Ravager will be proved useful, as Resonance will use that to increase Physical Damage. As most of Skar's attacks deal that, it is an excellent addition to his arsenal, while Kinetic Wave can give him space, whenever he is overwhelmed so he han retreat under a Shadow Cloak. *'Maldri '- Though Probability Assault is far from reliable, a 100% increase in Dodge is welcomed on any Hero. *'Vex' - With an exellent Squad ability in the form of Chrono-Blink, Vex's Passive will let Skar provide an support role to his teammates, much like Lumin and his Passive. *'Goliath' - The Arc Weld in itself is pretty devastating, especially if it's enhanced by a Shadow Cloak. Target Reticule, on the other hand isn't very reliable, because you never know which enemy will be scanned. *'Revenant' - Theroretically, Revvie could be a good choice during a fight. Grasping Dead isn't very effective for this Necro Tempest, however for Skar, it may be a great advantage. Terrifying Curse would also be good, if enhaced with Shadow Cloak, as it can interrupt the more dangerous enemies and keep them at bay, while Skar can devote himself to slashing the enemies to bloody shreds. 'Gamma' Phantom Charge - "Charges through enemies, causing '''X-X' energy damage and suppressing them for 2 seconds."'' Phantom Charge ''allows the user to cover large distances in the blink of an eye, making it a very useful skill in Co-op. Skar utilizes this best by landing slightly past his target, supressing them, then dealing damage with ''Shadow Sting. Either of these two attacks can be supplemented by a Shadow Cloak. If dealing with a horde, this variant of Skar is simply perfect. Simply run away from the enemies, activate Shadow Cloak, manuever into position and hit'' Phantom Charge''. Result: Almost certain bloodbath. This Skar requires no special gear, only what one would have put on him to begin with. However, + Harmful Status Duration wouldn't hurt. Delta - Affliction Bolt "Summons a semi-intelligent necroplasm for 12 seconds which will inflict a curse upon each enemy it touches. Cursed enemies will take X energy damage over 8 seconds." Affliction Bolt 'dramatically '''alters the way one plays as Skar. Suddenly, a Hero based on one-on-one melee combat is able to clear out a room with vast waves of energy damage. And all of this is thanks to his Squad Ablility. ''Shadow Cloak + Affliction Bolt ''results in a DoT Curse, that crits for each tick of damage, for at least 8 seconds. With the usual ''Dual Leech ''and ''Cooldown Reduction, Skar can deal with most of a Horde Pit by himself. However, he is less adept at dealing with Bosses than Skar Alpha, with the exception of Orcus and his Biosoids. Lieutenants and some Elites can, however, survive the Critted Affliction Bolt. And if one enemy with a Reflective Aura shows up, Skar will have to hunt him down and dispatch him, and hope he isn't also Ghostly, on the way. Despite being so different from Skar Alpha, the same gear setup is used by both of them. Attack Speed,'' Dual Leech'', and Cooldown Reduction. Skar Delta will also benefit from + Harmful Status Duration, but that is a rare stat. Recommended Gear Equip like any other Ravager, focusing on Dexterity, Crit Rating and Dodge Rating. Power is appreciated, especially on Skar Delta, with his high rate of Ability usage. Note* Not all of this is necessary, but these are stats to keep an eye out for. *+ Necro Damage *% Necro Damage Reduction *% Cooldown Reduction *% Power Leech *% Health Leech *% Periodic Damage (Certain Variants) *% Harmful Status Effect Duration (Certain Variants) *% Attack Speed *+ Weapon Max Damage *+ Weapon Min Damage *+ Physical Damage *% Physical Damage *+ Energy Damage (Certain Variants) *% Energy Damage (Certain Variants) *Any immunities to debuffs (fully optional) *Skar's Squad Ability Modifiers (also optional) *% Movement Speed *Any sorts of boons from loot (optional) *% Range Increase *% Helpful Status Effect Duration (certain Variants) Category:Darkspore Gameplay Category:Heroes Category:Darkspore Category:Necro Category:Ravagers Category:Hero Strategy